Tauranga principal calls time for travel and grandchildren

Graeme Lind was his son's and grandson's first principal.

He taught his son at one of New Zealand's smallest schools in Taranaki where the roll was just 10 pupils - and he is now retiring as principal of his grandson's primary school.

The Greenpark School principal has called time on his 46-year education career and will retire at the end of the 2017 school year.

His wife, Vicki, is also retiring from her teaching role at the school so the pair can travel and spend more time with their four grandchildren.

"Forty-six years in my view is long enough," he said. "We want to be able to spend more time with our grandchildren and travel while we are young and fit enough to do it."

Their first trip is to tour the South Island's west coast in February followed by Australia in July and India and Sri Lanka in October. "So that is next year sorted," he laughed.

Mr Lind's 46 years in education began in 1972 at teachers' training college in Palmerston North before his first teaching job at Greerton Primary School in 1975.

The next year he and wife Vicki moved to Taranaki where he taught at Mangatoki School, Francis Douglas College and Bell Block Primary School.

Mr Lind then became the sole-charge principal of Hurleyville School in Patea. "Our children brought the school roll to 10," he said. "I was their first teacher at Hurleyville."

He moved to Tauranga with his wife in 2003 and was appointed principal of Greenpark School.

"The special thing now is I was my son's first principal 31 years ago, and now I am his son's first principal. That was a very proud moment."

Mr Lind told the school's Board of Trustees at the beginning of Term 3 that he would be retiring.

"It is hard to make the decision to leave," he said. "But once you make the decision it gets easier by the day. It is something I am now looking forward to."

He planned to stay in his role as chairman of Education Tauranga after he said goodbye to 15 years at Greenpark School.

He thanked the Board of Trustees for allowing him to express his vision which had seen a growth in sports, arts and technology at the school.

"All I ask is for whoever follows me leaves in a better place than when we found it. I hope I have left Greenpark in a better place than I found it and the principal before me left things very organised and very well set-up."

MR LIND'S JOURNEY:

- Teachers College in Palmerston North, 1972
- Greerton Primary School, 1975
- Mangatoki School, 1976
- Was sports master at Francis Douglas College, New Plymouth
- Bell Block Primary School teacher
- District adviser of physical education for the Taranaki Education Board
- Principal of Hurleyville, Patea
- Eltham Primary School for three years
- Served on the Taranaki Primary Schools Rugby Advisory Board
- Wairarapa College cricket and rugby coach
- Manager and Senior A rugby coach of Wairarapa Bush Representative Team
- Wairarapa Bush Rugby Union chairman, six years
- Principal of Masterton Central School, 12 years
- Retired from Hurricanes' foundation board, 2003
- Appointed Greenpark School principal, 2003
- Established a relationship with South Korea sister school